If you think heroin is the deadliest opioid in America, think again. While that might have been the case in the past, things have taken a major shift over the past few years.

Heroin led to nearly 16,000 deaths last year, but another popular opioid surpassed that tragic number.

If you have not guessed already, we are talking about fentanyl.

Fentanyl is an opioid that is over a 100 times stronger than street heroin. To put that into perspective, transdermal fentanyl is 100-150xs more potent than oral morphine and is often prescribed to treat advanced cancer patients.

Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl doubled during 2016, accounting for 25% more deaths than heroin, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this week.

In 2016, the data revealed that 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. Out of this number, 20,100 deaths were attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. If we compared those numbers to heroin deaths, that’s an almost 5000 person difference!

The recent data also reveals how unevenly drug deaths are spread throughout the country:

In states like Delaware, overdose rates rose 71% between 2016 and 2017 (with 309 deaths during the year).

Maryland had an increase of 67% for a total of 2,171 overdose deaths.

Of the states that reported data, only Nebraska, Washington and Wyoming saw a decrease in overdose deaths over the past year.

Fentanyl has been getting a great deal of attention as the drug is responsible for the massive increase in overdose fatalities. For example, last year in Massachusetts, 69% of people who died of an opioid overdose (and had a toxicology screen) had fentanyl in their systems, according to the Boston Business Journal.

Furthermore, in Ohio, fentanyl killed nearly 2,400 people in 2016, which is double the number in comparison to the year prior, according to Cincinatti.com

“It truly is everywhere,” Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), said to USA Today.

Education is Key

Over the summer, the DEA worked to educate first responders about the dangers of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids like carfentanil and acryl fentanyl. These synthetic opioids are strong enough to make even the most casual user overdose and pose a severe threat.

Despite the dangers of addicts receiving a potentially fatal drug, law enforcement officials say the demand for fentanyl continues to rise. This is because fentanyl boost profits for dealers to sell the drug as heroin.

“You can make it as strong as you want, and in bulk and fast,” said Tim Reagan, a DEA agent in Cincinnati.

Still, law enforcement expects fentanyl seizure to become more of the norm at the end of this year.

“I expect that in fiscal year 2017, the numbers of seizures in the mail and express consignment environment (such as FedEx and UPS) will be much higher than they were last year,” said Robert Perez, an acting commissioner with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.

Where is it coming from?

Fentanyl is coming from a variety of locations, but one main target is China. China has been singled out as the main source of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Through the dark web, drug dealers are able to purchase fentanyl from websites hosted in China. They then have shipments sent to the US.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seizures of fentanyl arriving by mail have increased significantly:

In 2011, 0.09 kilograms of fentanyl were seized by mail

In 2016 it rose to 37 kilograms

Unfortunately, officials in the United States are expecting the worse when it comes to the opioid crisis. Experts are looking at current trends, and most believe the opioid crisis will get worse before it gets better.

Did you know the major impact fentanyl was having on the opioid crisis? Sadly, when it comes to using drugs, your next high could be your last. Therefore, make a choice to recover from addiction today. Tomorrow may be too late. Do not wait. We are waiting for your call. Call now.

Today, August 31, marks International Overdose Awareness Day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths. This day intends to acknowledge the pain and hardship felt by friends and family who have suffered the loss of a loved one due to a drug overdose.

International Overdose Awareness Day is a day that hopes to reduce the shame and guilt that is so often associated with addiction. The day aims to provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn for loved ones without feeling guilt or shame.

International Overdose Awareness Day Focuses on:

Giving communities information about fatal and non-fatal overdoses

Sending a strong message to current and former drug users that they are valued

The Shocking Reality

Drug overdoses are the number one cause of preventable death in America. Today is a day to spread awareness to others about the disease of addiction. Addiction does not discriminate. It affects everyone.

The United States is facing a major drug epidemic.

The United States accounts for approximately one-quarter of the estimated number of drug-related deaths worldwide.

Overdose deaths continue to rise, and these overdoses are driven by opioid use.

Overdose deaths have more than tripled in the United States during the period of 1999-2015, from 16,849 to 52,404 annually.

A recent report by STATstates the opioid epidemic is predicted to get a lot worse before it gets any better if it gets better at all.

The third quarter of 2016, saw all drug overdose deaths peak at 19.9 cases for every 100,000 people, compared to the 16.7 in the same period last year.

Another report found that the number of drug overdoses involving opioids between 2008-2014 was likely underestimated by 24%.

Substances like fentanyl are close to 50 times stronger than heroin, and the increased presence of these opioid have significantly increased the number of opioid overdoses.

So what is an overdose exactly?

An overdose means taking too much of a drug or a combination of drugs for a body to tolerate. Overdose symptoms vary depending on the drug abused. Opioids, benzos, and alcohol all cause overdoses. These drugs slow down the nervous system which includes breathing and heart rate. Too much of these substances can kill or cause permanent brain damage to the user.

Signs of a drug overdose on opioids include:

Shallow breathing or not breathing at all

Snoring or gurgling sounds (this can mean that a person’s airway is partly blocked)

Blue lips or fingertips

Floppy arms and legs

No response to stimulus

Disorientation

Unconsciousness.

If you think someone has overdosed, please seek help immediately. Not all overdoses happen quickly, and it can take hours for someone to die from an overdose depending on the severity. Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is an overdose antidote that reverses an overdose from opioids.

Fight to Increase Access to Narcan

Narcan is now in the hands of first responders. It can be found in schools and even over-the-counter depending on the area you reside. Please look into where you can purchase and receive training.

If you know someone who has overdosed, show your support on International Overdose Awareness Day. Now, more than ever is the time to share the truth about addiction. We need to end the stigma.

How to Get Involved

There are a variety of resources available on the International Overdose Awareness Day website. The website has an area where loved ones can write and grieve anyone they have lost. These tributes are where many share the impact drug use, and overdoses have had on their family and friends. There is also an overdose awareness app that shares information on what an overdose is, and the main overdose symptoms. Please see the website for more information and to look for events in your local area.

—-

How are you going to raise awareness of International Overdose Awareness Day? The impact of addiction continues to influence the lives around us. Let’s end the stigma. If you are struggling with substance abuse, do not wait for it to progress into an overdose. We can help you get back on track. Please call toll free today. Do not wait.

When Jimmy Harding was just ten years old, he started mowing lawns around his neighborhood for extra cash. During these early years, he acquired an entrepreneurial spirit that has carried with him ever since. Harding would spend the rest of his life developing his businesses and despite the ups and downs, achieve the personal freedom he always desired.

On an episode of The Real Deal On…, Harding sat down with Dug McGuirk for a conversation about reinvention. He discusses his business troubles and the pivotal moments that made reinvention possible in both his personal and professional life.

Harding started his career in construction, eventually becoming a construction mogul and dominating the industry. However, through a series of twists and turns, he fell into marketing. He is now a sought-after marketing guru who helps other businesses reach their full potential.

When it comes to reinvention, Harding has been through quite a few:

“I don’t believe there’s one reinvention per se. I think we go through a series of them,” he says.

Harding started his career in construction and grew his construction firm from the ground up.

“It started off as basically me and a helper and a pickup truck, and by the time that business got to its height, we were building like ten to twelve fast-food restaurants per year and then like a luxury home every single month on the residential side, so we really grew that thing up.”

During his time in construction, Harding learned valuable lessons.

Often, people place their failure on a lack of resources; however, Harding always knew the importance of being resourceful. Therefore, when he wanted to learn how to build a particular type of cabinet, instead of hiring someone to build it, Harding began working at a cabinet shop to find out how to build it himself.

“There was a particular type of cabinet that I didn’t know how to build and I went and got a job at a cabinet shop while I owned my own business just to learn how to build that so I can see the process, come back and use it in the project we were about to start,” he explains.

“There’s always a way. It’s just how do we figure it out. You can either pay someone to show you or you can pay someone to teach you to do it,” he continues.

Gaining Personal Freedom:

Ultimately, Harding’s goal was always to achieve personal freedom. Entrepreneurship was a vehicle to achieve that goal, he says. Over the years, he developed a passion for helping others achieve that freedom on their own. From the beginning, he always had a passion for helping others.

“I would go get my friends that would have you know $100,000 in debt from going to college, and they couldn’t even get a job. I’m like, ‘No, this is how you create your own economy,’ so I always would give people a hand up, people younger than me…,” he says

“That saying that it takes money to make money is B.S.,” he explains. “I’ve never had startup funding or whatever. Whatever I was going to do, I would go out and help other people, get paid for it, and use that [money] as the capital to start up my business.”

The Impact of Hurricane Katrina

Despite a struggling economy and weakening housing market, Harding’s construction firm continued to boom throughout the early 2000s. Then, Hurricane Katrina happened.

“All of a sudden, Hurricane Katrina comes along, and we’ve got 13 properties under construction, all in my name that I own,” he says. “We ended up having anywhere from like two to 13 feet of water in nine of the 13 properties, and it was pretty devastating. We had to recover from that and then there was a big need in the community.”

Despite the hurdles, Harding’s construction company thrived as they were able to help families rebuild their homes and contribute to the community in various ways.

“It was really a great time for us and contributing to the community, and we were rewarded handsomely for it because we helped like 87 people get back in their home,” he explains.

It was a hectic time. Families lived in FEMA trailers on the front lawn while their houses were being built, Harding says. The goal was to build these homes as soon as possible. Therefore, Harding’s company was able to grow and employ a lot of new people.

The business continued to boom for about 18 months; then suddenly things started to shift.

“It wasn’t that there was no need for any construction services but what happened is the stuff that we did or the stuff that we were capable of doing, was not available anymore,” he says.

Essentially, the only work left in New Orleans after 18 months was down to the most damaged stuff.

“If you were not a contractor that was set up to do 100 million dollar jobs like big infrastructure and improvement type of stuff, then it came down to very little left to be done,” he says.

Instead of changing his business model, Harding kept thinking things would get better. However, business started to dry up. He had to figure out what to do next. He remembered how heavily competing companies were advertising, so he decided to dive into marketing in an attempt to save his business.

This was the start of a costly journey to understand how marketing and advertising worked.

The last $100,000:

Harding’s quest to figure out why his business was declining led him into the marketing industry. He used the last $100,000 of his business finances to invest in advertising. He hired an advertising company to market his construction company to NFL games.

As a Saint Season holder, Harding thought the affluent market at these games would be a great place to gain new clients for his construction firm. He became the official construction sponsor for all the games. Unfortunately, the results were far from promising.

“The only phone call I got was someone else trying to sell me advertising,” he laughs.
“The first thing that I learned from that is that just because someone sells advertising doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing,” he says.

The experience taught Harding a lot about advertising. He realized the way he was marketing the wrong way.

“In advertising, you need two things: you have to be able to make an emotional connection, and it has to be intellectually interesting,” he explains.

Despite the lessons learned, his construction firm shut down.

“Eventually I ran out of money, and I had to shut it down and give the properties back and start struggling for survival,” he says. “It seemed like everything I touched just fell apart during that time, so that was a long struggle period like from 2008 until 2010.”

After his business went under, Harding decided to go on the road doing disaster cleanup. He had become an “expert on disaster cleanup,” and knew he had the tools to do the job. It seemed like the right direction to go.

“I said okay, I’m going to start going on the road and to these disasters and start doing our disaster cleanup and so I learned a lot of stuff at that time,” he says.

At first, Harding would knock on the doors of residents who had gone through a disaster and offer his services. He learned quickly that this was not the most efficient strategy. Soon, Harding began educating people on how to respond and react to disasters. He created educational brochures to hand out to people and acquired clients through becoming an expert in the field.

“When they would call me, I would go to their house, and I would expand on that education, and so really I was just consulting with them. I was helping them, and like people were literally just pulling out their checkbooks,” he says.

This was a pivotal point in Harding’s career as he learned the importance of educational marketing. To this day, Harding continues to give away tons of information and advice to help people in their own pursuits.

Harding’s disaster cleanup business started to flourish, and he eventually partnered with a friend in the oil industry. Together, they developed a company. During this time, he continued to learn more about marketing. Eventually, his efforts led him to the boardroom of a major oil company.

“That same marketing that was getting people to invite me into their home to educate them invited this big oil company to call us,” he says.

The BP Oil Spill Fiasco

The morning of the big meeting, Harding and his business partner were prepared to sign a seven-figure contract with the major oil company.

“All I had to do was go there, do my presentation, and basically sign contracts,” he says.

“The morning that we show up in Houston, my partner and I walk into this big giant boardroom, and there’s a flat-screen TV on the wall, and there’s an oil rig on fire,” Harding remembers.

“That night, in the middle of the night before we got there, was the big BP oil spill of 2010,” he says.

“We get there, and all non-essential services are canceled indefinitely. Boom. So I’m going there to get money. We needed this money, and all of a sudden, boom and I was in shock,” he continues.

Despite his shock, Harding remembered something he learned from Tony Robin’s Date with Destiny seminar a few months earlier. During the seminar, he learned “state management,” and knew not to keep repeating the same victim story. Instead of dwelling on the failure and asking why; he asked himself how he could use the experience to help others. That was the moment he decided to open up his own marketing company.

“It was the catalyst to opening a marketing company, and like mastering marketing and changing and moving into the way that I coach and consult now. it was all based off of that thing,” he explains.

Advice to others in reinvention:

Harding went through various reinventions but ultimately learned to gain from his experience rather than create the same story in his head. His marketing company was a result of the ups and downs of his past businesses. Through his experience, he is now able to help others succeed.

“When something traumatic happens, you have to look at the good side, because you know there’s an opposite reaction to everything that happens,” he says.

Harding shares his advice for those wanting to pursue their goals:

“Figure out exactly what you want and then go after it. One of the big mistakes that I made along the way is I knew what I did not want, so I never got specific. I got specific on what I didnot want and what I found out is that’s not good enough. […] Figure out what you want and focus on that. Don’t be scared to fail. It’s not a failure unless you quit,” he says.

—
We highly encourage you to listen to the entire interview to hear more exciting stories from Jimmy Harding. Harding has had every obstacle thrown at him over the course of his career, but despite all of it, he managed to turn it all around.

Reinvention is about going in a positive direction when obstacles are thrown at you. In recovery, reinvention is crucial. You need to stop telling yourself the same old stories of failure. Instead, focus on heading in a positive direction in your life. If you or someone you love is struggling, please call toll-free now.

The training, described as “CPR for the mind,” will consist of an eight-hour-long course that teaches and provides the tools needed to help someone with mental health challenges. While the training does not turn people into crisis counselors, it does help people better understand how to identify and respond to signs of mental illness. The objective is to train 150,000 people by the end of 2017.

Since 2008, over 1 million people received training in Mental Health First Aid.

“To us, [the training] is so vitally important because there’s still a very large stigma around mental health, and around talking about it and providing help for people who are experiencing a mental health crisis,” Cynthia Germanotta told Mashable. “It’s really been invaluable because there’s just a comfort level knowing that if you see someone in crisis, you can have a conversation with them and hopefully determine how severe it is.”

Earlier this year, the Born This Way Foundation released its report regarding factors that influence mental wellness in young people. The results were gathered through surveying over 3,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and over 1000 parents.

The findings confirmed that having a network of friends, community support, and access to resources was crucial for the mental well-being of young people. The report also found a dire need for more resources for young people to take better care of their mental health.

Mental Health First Aid Training:

These findings make Mental Health First Aid training even more valuable. These training help people obtain the tools and confidence needed to encourage friends and family seek help. Often, young people are not willing to talk to older adults or their parents.

Germanotta told Mashable about how Gaga was bullied in middle school, which inspired them to be a part of this mission. In the past, Lady Gaga has opened up about her mental health challenges, including her PTSD diagnosis.

Back in December 2016, Lady Gaga first revealed during an emotional visit with homeless, LGBTQ teens in New York that she had struggled with PTSD. She visited the Ali Forney Center to surprise teens with gifts as part of Today and NBC Universal’s #ShareKindness campaign.

“These children are not just homeless or in need. Many of them are trauma survivors. They’ve been rejected in some type of way,” Gaga said. “My own trauma in my life has helped me to understand the trauma of others.”

Furthermore, Gaga hopes her efforts during this upcoming tour will make an impact on the lives of young people.

What do you think about Gaga and her mother’s mission on the Joanne tour? Should other artists consider promoting similar programs? PTSD is not a laughing manner and if left untreated, can cause further mental health struggles, even substance abuse. Please reach out if you are struggling. No one should have to battle this on their own. If you or someone you love is struggling with mental illness or addiction, please call toll-free 1-800-777-9588.

It’s official.

Oregon just became the 5th state to raise its smoking age to 21. Oregon will now join California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Maine as states where a person must be at least 21 to purchase tobacco products.

Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill on Wednesday, and it will take effect at the start of 2018. The bill will bar anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing tobacco products.

The empirical research shows the change could save lives. Prior to this, Brown praised Lane County in Oregon for raising its legal age, arguing it was a necessary move to reduce smoking rates.

“I want to make sure that we continue to reduce the number of young people starting to smoke, but it’s also critical that we reduce the number of people smoking,” she said in May.

In short, these new bills are a popular strategy to address the high death rates from smoking. While smoking rates have actually declined in the past several years, tobacco products still kill far more than all other drug-related deaths, murders and car crashes combined. Policymakers believe these new bills will decrease the amount of deaths that occur every year due to tobacco

The Stats & The Controversy:

Tobacco kills over 480,000people in the US every year. A 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found that raising the smoking age to 21 could prevent approximate 223,000 premature deaths among Americans born between 2000 and 2019.

Still, some remain skeptical. Many argue that since 18-year-olds can serve in the military, get married and enter into legal contracts, they should be able to choose whether or not to smoke. Furthermore, there are concerns about how these policies are going to be enforced and the overall cost for taxpayers.

However, Beverly May, a regional director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids supports the bill. She believes it is another step in changing social norms and reducing the amount of youth who smoke.

“This is just another tool of a comprehensive approach to working with youth … It’s not just (raising the legal age to) 21. I think there’s been a lot of emphasis on law enforcement, but this is something we want to do for changing the social norms. It’s working with communities and convenience stores so they don’t sell the cigarettes,”May said.

Changes in smoking regulations are always shocking at first, May explains. At one time, smoking was common in airports, public restaurants, bars and other indoor locations. However, nowadays seeing someone smoke indoors would be incredibly uncommon.

“Now what happens is that if you walk into a restaurant and someone sees another person smoking, usually a patron will tell them to quit smoking or will tell the management. So a lot of these laws are policing themselves,” May continued.

Young People Are More Likely to Become Regular Smokers

Furthermore, older people are less likely to become smokers in comparison to younger people, the study notes. About 90 percent of adults who are daily smokers started smoking before 19 years old. Almost 100 percent report their first use before age 26, according to the IOM report. Therefore, preventing people from smoking at a young age could prevent them from smoking for a life time.

The higher legal age would delay the initiation rate in several ways:

It would prevent 18- to 21-year-olds from legally purchasing cigarettes.

It would have a trickle-down effect by making it more difficult for 15-17-year-old to access cigarettes from friends and family.

Middle and high-school students are more likely to have peers around 18-19 than peers closer to 21, making it more difficult to regularly obtain cigarettes illegally.

These new bills are modeled after The National Minimum Drinking Act of 1984 which rose the legal drinking age from 18 to 21.While many argue that the drinking age should be lowered, a 2014 review in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that evidence strongly suggested that the increasing drinking age has, in fact, reduced the amount of underage drinkers.

The review discovered that the minimum 21-year old drinking age saves hundreds of lives annually when you look at reduced alcohol-related traffic fatalities among underage drivers. One study found that the number of fatally injured drivers with a positive blood alcohol concentration decreased by 57 percent among those ages 16 to 20.

New Zealand, which reduced its drinking age from 20 to 18 in 1999, saw increases in drinking among ages 18 to 19. There was an even bigger increase among those 16 to 17 years old, as well as a rise in alcohol-related crashes among 15- to 19-year-olds.

Still, critics commonly argue that these age increases force youth to drink in secret, which increases binge drinking. However, there has not been any research that confirms this.

What do you think about increasing the age to use tobacco products? Either way, it seems like this is becoming a trend. There are officially five states that have enacted this type of bill. Smoking may seem harmless, but it is clear the consequences can be deadly overtime. If you are struggling with mental illness or substance abuse, please do not wait to seek help. Call now.

Not long ago, we wrote an article regarding WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Kurt Angle and his journey to sobriety. Now, Kurt Angle is thrilled to announce that he has achieved four years of sobriety!

On Sunday evening, the wrestler posted a black and white meme of Mickey Mouse flipping the bird that said, “To all the people who said I couldn’t stay sober this long…”

He continued his words with a more serious tone:

“Yesterday was my 4th year anniversary of remaining sober. I’m very humbled by my progress and support. Had to post this, because there’s very little humor in recovery.” Angle continued, “So I’m going to enjoy this. Hope you all do too! “Here’s to 4 years bitches!!!!” #stayingsober #doingitformyfamily #itstrue.”

The 48-year-old has been vocal about his addiction and recovery from prescription painkiller addiction. Angle was first introduced to painkillers in 2003 after sustaining a neck injury. He felt pressured to conceal his injury to continue working, so he opted for painkillers to alleviate the pain.

“I remember taking that first pill, and I was like, ‘well, this makes me feel really good. I feel like I can take on the world and I can’t feel my neck.’ And the affect it had on me gave me more energy than I normally had, so I liked that feeling. So I tried that. One turned to two. Two turned to four. Four turned to eight. And before I knew it, I was out of control,” he said in an interview.

In order to conceal his drug use, Angle would hold off on taking narcotic pain medication during the evening. Right when the night time hit, he would abuse painkillers, alcohol, and anti-anxiety medication. At one point, Angle says he was ingesting 65 painkillers a day. He managed to rack up four DUIs over a six-year period.

At times, he was able to withdraw from opioids on his own, but eventually the desire to use caught up with him.

Looking back, Angle admits: “When you’re that deep into that stuff – you can’t do it on your own.”

In August of 2013, Angle finally reached his breaking point. After his fourth DUI in Wise County, Texas, he decided to enter rehab and has been sober since.

Since entering recovery, Angle has returned to the WWE as a general manager and has launched an app and website to help those in recovery.

“I’m traveling all the time for work, and I’m a husband and father to five kids, so I just don’t have time for AA meetings,” he said. “I could go to a counselor or a psychiatrist, but that’s pricey and still just one day a week. Where was I going to get this structure now?”

Because of these concerns, Angle developed a space that would help give people in recovery a sense of accountability and structure. The site and app, AngleStrong, offers users support, structure, positive affirmations, goals and reminders to help with their sobriety. The site offers tools that help address all aspects of recovery.

Angle stressed how crucial it was for him to maintain a conversational about addiction.

“What keeps me clean is talking about my addiction. I do it daily, whether it’s in the form of talking to a group, an interview or a video chat. And at the same time, I’m giving back.”

We commend Kurt Angle for his efforts in not only staying sober but helping others struggling in their journey as well. It is so important to offer a helping hand to those in the early stages of sobriety. The first year of recovery is challenging and a completely new experience. It is important to create a network of people who will keep you accountable during this period of time.

Addiction is a disease and recovery is the only way to manage and take back control fully. If you are struggling with mental illness or substance abuse, please do not wait to seek help. At one point, Angle felt completely out of control, but recovery gave his life back. You can regain yours too. Call now.